FILE – In this July 29, 2013 file photo, cast member Allison Janney participates in the “Mom” panel at the CBS Summer TCA at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. “Mom,” airs on Mondays on CBS. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Allison Janney extends the maxim that the best actors can entertain simply by reading a phone book. She manages with commercials.

Her voice is warm and burnished with compassion on radio and TV voiceover spots for a health care provider, possibly the most melodic soft-sell ever.

Then there’s her real craft. Consider, for instance, her sharp, take-no-prisoners delivery as C.J. Gregg in “The West Wing,” and her manic chatter as a blowsy woman in the indie film “The Way Way Back.”

Or enjoy the sly purr she employs as Bonnie, a wayward but good-hearted parent and grandparent who’s trying to stay reformed in the new CBS sitcom “Mom” (9:30 EST Monday). Anna Faris co-stars as her similarly imperfect daughter.

“It’s acting,” Janney said. “I feel like actors like to be challenged and play all different types of roles. For whatever reason, I’ve been given the opportunity to do so.”